Writing is an essential skill in today’s workplace! The feedback Bucks receives from employers in all fields and four-year colleges and universities reveals that applicants and students with superior written communication skills are on the fast track to success. Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing in the Disciplines are common terms for methods that reinforce student writing skills outside of composition courses. Bucks was among the first colleges to promote these methods.Writing Across the College is the umbrella term for everything writing at Bucks. WAC includes for-credit and non-credit writing skill development, creative writing opportunities for students and the wider Bucks County community, resources for faculty and staff, events, student clubs, and Bucks publications.
WAC COUNCIL AND WAC COORDINATOR
With so many writing activities and resources in various departments all over Bucks campuses, WAC unifies our offerings through the Coordinator, who is a faculty member, and through the Council, a group that represents all academic departments, continuing education, the Academic Success Center, the Center for Student Employment and Career Development, and other WAC stakeholders. The Council and Coordinator work together to offer faculty training, provide teaching resources, and administer Writing Intensive courses, Writing Enhanced course sections, and digital badging to recognize student and faculty participation in WAC programming.
ACADEMIC WRITING
Writing to Learn (WTL) and Learning to Write
At Bucks, we believe that writing is not just something one learns to do, but also something one does to learn. Throughout our curriculum, professors use quick, low-stakes writing-to-learn exercises that help students take charge of their learning by applying new ideas, identifying areas to strengthen, and reflecting on their work.
Bucks students also strengthen their writing skills through the following:
• Writing-heavy majors and certificates
• Writing Courses—courses about writing
• Writing-Intensive courses and Writing-Enhanced Course Sections—these courses employ writing to teach other content, reinforce writing skill development, and practice writing conventions specific to particular academic disciplines and careers.
• Digital Badges
• Tutoring and other instructional resources for writing across the curriculum and transfer application essays at the Academic Success Center
• Information Literacy resources available through the Library
• Presenting their research at the Student Research Conference
JOURNALISM AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING
• Bucks’s non-credit offerings help community members build writing skills for the work world and for personal enrichment.
• The Center for Student Employment and Career Development provides students and alumni with feedback on their resume and cover letter drafts.
CREATIVE WRITING AT BUCKS
A real center for writing in Bucks County, the College administers programs for Bucks students and the community alike, including the Bucks County Poet Laureate programs, Wordsmiths Reading Series, and contests and other resources for both adults and kids. The Tyler Literary Society, a student club, produces a publication of student writing and artwork every semester.
BUCKS PUBLICATIONS
Books by Faculty and Staff
The Canon, the literary magazine of student work
The Centurion, Bucks’s award-winning student newspaper
RESOURCES FOR BUCKS FACULTY AND STAFF
• The WAC Canvas site provides faculty with writing-to-learn and learning-to-write instructional materials.
• See Professional Development announcements and/or the WAC Coordinator for professional development events related to writing across the curriculum.
• The Foundation provides assistance with grants-writing to support.
• The Writers Reading series provides an opportunity for Bucks employees to share their original writing with each other.
For questions and comments: wac@bucks.edu
Writing Across the College 